


Volleyball Hearts

by YoursAlways



Category: Haikyuu!!, InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friendship, One Shot Collection, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-26
Updated: 2015-12-07
Packaged: 2018-02-14 20:53:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 18,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2202744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YoursAlways/pseuds/YoursAlways
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of one-shots featuring Kagome and the guys of Haikyuu!! Ratings will vary by chapter. Pairing requests and prompts are welcome.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Keishin Ukai

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Haikyuu!! and make no money from these writings.

====================

Volleyball Hearts

Chapter One: Keishin Ukai  
Rating: K+

His patience wearing thinner with each volleyball that he heard hit the floor, Ukai was ready to start wringing necks. Really, most of these little idiots had been playing volleyball for how many years now? And they still couldn’t complete a decent receive? He checked his watch again for the time and gritted his teeth.

When Takeda glanced to the side to see Ukai grumbling and rubbing his forehead for what had to be the fifth time in the last half-hour, he frowned. “Um, Ukai? Is anything the matter? You seem a little off today.”

“It’s nothing,” Ukai groused as he ran his hand down his face tiredly. “I’m just dying is all.”

Alarmed, Takeda exclaimed “Dying?!”

“Not really, you dumbass!” Ukai snapped as he ground his teeth together again and tightened a fist. How he had made it through the last few weeks without hitting someone, he’d never know. He took a deep breath in an attempt to soothe this fraying nerves. It didn’t really work. “I just feel like I’m dying right now.”

Takeda look his friend over and noticed just how haggard he really looked. He looked exhausted and far more grumpy than usual. “Are you sick? The school nurse might still be here.”

Eyes narrowing at the suggestion, Ukai tightened his jaw and said, “I’m good.” Watching both Hinata and Tsukishima send their receives flying off to the side of the court, he frustratedly shoved his hands into his blond dyed hair and groaned. “Noya and Sawamura are the only receiving defense you guys have right now! Do you think you can get by with just them? Jeez, guys, you have got to step it up out there!”

“Ah…Ukai,” Takeda hedged. “Maybe some coaching that’s a little more constructive?” The smaller man actually almost squeaked when the coach leveled a glare his way. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m pretty freaking far from okay,” Ukai grumbled as he dropped himself back into his chair and tapped his foot in irritation.

Watching him a little more carefully, Takeda took stock of the man in front of him. Dark circles were under his eyes; a sure sign of poor sleep. He was twitching and tapping his feet and fingers while he grumbled about this and that involving the team. Every now and then he’d take a deep breath in an effort to relax, but he almost always followed it by tightening his fists. As Takeda thought back on it, he realized that Ukai had been like this for a few weeks now. And there was one more thing in the past weeks that had seemed out of place, though he hadn’t realized it until just then.

Takeda blinked owlishly at Ukai before he suddenly blurted out, “Did you quit smoking?”

The entire gym fell silent as all of the volleyball players turned wide, slightly horrified eyes to their coach. Was that why he’d been down their throats lately?

Ukai actually felt his eye twitch. “So what if I did?” He asked with a look that dared anyone to be a smartass about it. All of the teens glanced over to Tsukishima, but even he knew not to touch this one.

“Well, it’s just,” Takeda paused. “It’s just that your temper has been a little…short lately. Is there any particular reason you decided to quit?”

“Of course there’s a damn reason! You think I’m gonna put myself through this for nothing?” He bit out. How stupid did they think he was? This was torture! His head hurt, he couldn’t sleep for shit, he was starving, and he really just wanted to hit something. 

Takeda looked to the rest of the team, and when none of them stepped up to ask the question on everyone’s mind, he sighed. “So then what’s the reason?”

Ukai leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. Burying his face in his hands, he grumbled out an unintelligible answer.

“Uh…I didn’t quite catch that, Ukai,” Takeda told him hesitantly.

“A woman!” Ukai shouted as he sat up quickly. “I’m doing it for a woman! Happy?!”

Takeda, as well as everyone else in the gym, was shocked. “You…have a…girlfriend?” Takeda slowly got out.

“Not freaking yet, I don’t!” When he saw everyone looking at him oddly, he groaned and elaborated, “I asked her out a few times, but she always said no. When I asked her why, she said she didn’t date smokers. So I quit. For her. We’re getting dinner tonight, and you can bet your ass that if it doesn’t go well I’ll be back off the wagon tomorrow.”

Seeing how miserable their coach was, Daichi was the first to work up the courage to ask, “Is a girl really worth feeling that bad?”

Just as Ukai was about to answer, a knock came from the open doorway of the gym. Standing there was a pretty woman in a black pencil skirt with a white button-down shirt.

Takeda blinked. He knew her. Well, he knew her in passing anyway. It was the school nurse, Kagome Higurashi. More than one faculty member had a crush on her, and he knew that a few of the students had also suffered a rash of “stomach aches” since she’d started working at their school. She looked different - good different - with her long hair down out of its usual bun.

“Keishin?” She called with a small smile before finally spotting him in his chair. “I’m finally finished with my filing, so I’m ready to go whenever you’re finished here.” Looking up to see several teens staring at her, Kagome waved happily. “Hi guys! I hope you’re practicing hard. I’ve heard good things about the team this year.” Focusing on one member in particular, she asked, “Oh, Tanaka, how’s your stomach? Better than earlier?”

Takeda slid his player a knowing look while the rest of the team tried to hide their laughter. Tanaka at least had the decency to look a little embarrassed as he answered “Yes, ma’am.”

Standing up from his seat, Ukai sighed. Smiling tiredly at Kagome, he spoke, “I’ll be right there.” When she smiled, nodded, and walked back down the breezeway away from the gym, he turned back to his team. “Alright, that’s it for practice today,” he announced. It was a little early, but he really didn’t care. He was just about to head out and leave clean up to the team when he paused and called out, “Sawamura.” When the captain turned and gave him his attention, Ukai smiled smugly as he said, “Oh yeah, she’s worth it.”


	2. Shouyou Hinata

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Haikyuu!! and make no money from these writings.

====================

Volleyball Hearts

Chapter Two: Shouyou Hinata  
Rating: K  
Prompt: Chibi Love

The boys of the Karasuno Volleyball Club watched on with varying levels of interest and confusion as Hinata leaned against the wall talking to a very pretty girl named Kagome. She had first started visiting their practices a few weeks ago, and since then she and Hinata had been nearly inseparable.

She was apparently a first year, but she was so quiet in class that none of the teams first years had noticed her even though she was in the same class as Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. With as thin as they had been spread at Ukai’s family store, they’d taken on a couple of part-time student workers, and Kagome had been one of them. And thus she came to be involved with the Volleyball Club. Every afternoon, Ukai’s mother, sweet woman that she was, sent Kagome up to the second gymnasium with a basket of fruit and juice boxes for the team.

And so, as the team took a short break to rest and get something to boost their energy, they took their time to really examine the odd couple that Hinata and Kagome made.

Drawing his eyebrows together, Tsukishima was the first to speak. “ _How?_ ” It was all that really needed to be said for the rest of the team to know what he meant.

Suga chuckled a little as he watched Kagome hold the orange that she was peeling up to Hinata’s hair and laugh causing the boy to blush but laugh along with her. “He took a chance and asked her,” he explained with a shrug.

“Again, I ask,” Tsukishima turned to look at his upperclassman. “ _How?_ ”

“I gotta agree,” Tanaka spoke up rubbing the back of his head. “Hinata’s a great kid, but he gets so nervous before matches that he has to run to the bathroom about five times. How’d he get the nerve up to ask out a girl? A _pretty_ girl?”

“You’d have to ask him,” Suga smiled. While deep down he wondered the very same thing, he was very proud of Hinata. He usually got so nervous and worked up over such small things that asking Kagome to go out with him had been a huge step. He almost felt like a proud parent. Of course he would never admit that to the rest of the team. They already thought of him as the team “mom,” and he didn’t want to enforce that label.

Kageyama frowned. His expression was one of immense confusion and slight unease as he asked, “But _why_?”

“Probably their personalities,” Daichi chimed in as he drank from his box of apple juice. When several pairs of eyes turned to stare at him, he cleared his throat and elaborated. “They’re both really sunny people that attract other people to them. You always hear that opposites attract, but I think it’s the opposite way around this time.”

Again, the team watched the couple. Kagome and Hinata were laughing together at something that the rest of the team had missed, but Daichi seemed to have a point. Both first years brought a certain amount of light to a room, and they just seemed to naturally gravitate towards each other. 

As the couples’ laughter died down, they saw Kagome sigh and lean her head lightly against Hinata’s shoulder as she passed him another orange slice. The redhead took it with a light blush that his girlfriend couldn’t see and popped it in his mouth before smiling down at the slightly shorter girl.

“Okay, come on, guys,” Noya called out as he pushed his way to the front of the group observing the couple like they were part of a nature documentary. “Who cares about the how and why? That,” he said as he pointed over his shoulder with his thumb to where Hinata and Kagome still stood, “is cute as hell, and you should all be happy for Shouyou instead of standing around gawking at him. Good for him! How many of you guys have girlfriends? Maybe you should go get some pointers from him!” With that Noya started laughing while several of his teammates looked away with light blushes. Just then, Ukai called everyone to gather back up and resume their practice drills.

Kagome packed up what was left of the untouched fruit and juice boxes before settling it against her hip and turning to face Hinata. “They were talking about us again, you know.”

“Yeah,” Hinata laughed a little nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck. 

“And you still don’t care?” She asked with a small smile as she stepped to stand directly in front of him.

“Nah,” he told her with a bright smile. “Besides, they’ll get tired of talking about us soon and find something else.”

Kagome nodded and bounced the basket a little to adjust it’s weight. “So I’ll see you at the store after practice?”

“Oh yeah!” he replied happily. Kagome’s shifts always ended after practice got out because that’s when Ukai would return to the store, so he had started walking Kagome home before heading back over the mountain to his house.

“Great, I’ll see you then,” Kagome smiled as she raised up on her toes just enough to quickly peck his cheek. She laughed a little when she heard a few calls from the rest of the team. When she pulled back, she smiled at his blush before she turned and started towards the gym’s doors. But her departure was halted by a hand gripping her wrist and turning her back around. She was caught off guard when a set of warm lips met hers for a quick kiss before Hinata released her wrist and ran back to where his team waited, this time with much louder yells and whistles.

When she finally got outside and away from the rowdy bunch, Kagome started laughing. She knew it hadn’t been easy for Hinata to do that in front of his friends and teammates, and judging by how red his face had been as he released her, he knew what he was in for after she left. But despite all of that, as she thought of the sweet gesture, she couldn’t stop the light fluttering in her chest or the happy laughter that followed.


	3. Tobio Kageyama

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Haikyuu!! and make no money from these writings.

====================

Volleyball Hearts

Chapter Three: Tobio Kageyama  
Rating: T  
Prompt: Queen of the Court

Exhausted but feeling fresh and clean from his shower, Kageyama collapsed face first onto the bed with a groan. Practice had been especially grueling that day and he wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep, but he knew that he still had homework and reading that needed to get done. He grumbled into his pillow when long fingers pushed themselves into his damp hair and began to lightly scratch his scalp. That really wasn’t helping him stay awake.

“I know the feeling,” a light voice laughed beside him.

Kageyama turned his head to the side to look up at his girlfriend. He and Kagome were both in their first year of college and attending the same university in Tokyo. Somehow, she’d wound up living with him in his small apartment. He thought it had something to do with him living closer to the campus than her family with their shrine, but he really couldn’t even remember the reasoning anymore. It had just sort of happened gradually over time. An overnight bag turned into a drawer. A drawer turned into part of the closet. And part of the closet turned into her toothbrush and shampoo becoming permanent fixtures in his bathroom. According to the guys on his team, they were officially living together when she had a toothbrush at his place and spent at least five nights a week there. But he wasn’t upset or annoyed by her presence in his living space. Quite the opposite in fact. It made his tiny apartment feel more like a home.

Now, as she sat in bed with her back propped up against the headboard, a book in her lap, a highlighter cap sticking out of her mouth, and several pencils supporting a very messy bun, he couldn’t help but smile. And it was a genuine smile, too. Hinata probably would have fainted dead away, and that thought did draw a slightly dark chuckle out of him before he moved to roll over on his back.

He didn’t say anything as he watched her study. She had to work just as hard as he did. While he was on the men's volleyball team for their university, Kagome was on the women’s team. He ran ran a hand up one smooth, toned calf and traced a finger over the various bruises on the connected knee before smiling another tiny smile.

If he hadn’t loved volleyball before, he definitely would now. It was what had brought them together, after all. He’d been in his third year of high school, captain of the team, and they’d once again been invited to the summer training camp that took place with the same four teams from Tokyo. It had been held at Fukurodani that year and had been strangely quiet without Bokuto around. Even after the boisterous captain had graduated, he’d come to the training camp the next year to check in on the team that Akaashi had taken over. But once Akaashi had also graduated, Bokuto had happily moved on as well.

During one of their afternoon breaks, they’d heard the unmistakable sounds of a volleyball game being played. When he’d asked Wataru, Fukurodani’s captain at the time, about it, he’d been told that the girls’ team was practicing in the next gym. Well, the mention of the girls’ team had piqued the interest of many of the boys who had, until that point, been complaining of exhaustion. Many of them suddenly found their second wind and raced to the next gym’s windows and doors to check out the girls’ team. Kageyama had followed, but only to make sure none of his team made fools of themselves. At least, that’s the excuse he had ready in case anyone asked.

But when he joined the other captains in the doorway to the gym, the girls doing a very good job of pointedly ignoring the gawking male audience, his throat went dry and he almost choked. There was one girl on the court that immediately drawn his attention. It wasn’t because of the way she looked, though she was quite pretty, but the way that she played. She was a setter; obviously talented, clearly calculating, and oddly aggressive for someone her size. The way she played had actually reminded him of Oikawa.

Inuoka patted him on the back to get him breathing again and laughed at his reaction. When he asked who she was, Wataru had told them that she was captain of the girls’ team.

It wasn’t long after that the girls also called for a short water and rest break, and Kagome had been formally introduced to the captains from the boys’ teams. She was bright and happy and just all around charming. Deep down, Kageyama had been incredibly relieved that despite sharing a similar playing style, Kagome didn’t seem to share Oikawa’s crappy personality.

All five of the captains heaved a collective sigh as the boys began to flirt with the girls and offer to get them extra water and towels. And it had been a long week after that initial meeting. The guys and girls ended up spending so much time together that they ended up practicing together for the last few days of the training camp. As eager as they had been to flirt, none of the guys took well to losing to the girls. Egos were apparently very easy to bruise.

Now, as he laid on his back staring up at Kagome as she removed a pencil from her hair to make a note in the margin of her textbook, Kageyama ground his teeth a little at the next memory that surfaced.

That damn Tsukishima. It hadn’t taken long for him to open his smart mouth. Within minutes of the first girls versus boys game, he’d drawn the similarity in appearance and talent between Kageyama and Kagome. Black hair, blue eyes, and demanding excellence from their teams, Tsukishima had dubbed Kagome “Queen of the Court.”

Honestly, Kageyama almost hauled off and punched the ass. And he probably would have if Kagome hadn’t started laughing. While he loathed his nickname from his middle school days, Kagome didn’t seem to mind at all. He wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that she didn’t know the full story behind the title, but she’d told Tsukishima that if he was going to call her “Queen” then he could just go ahead a kneel anytime she walked by. Kageyama had actually laughed at that and the way Tsukishima glared had just been icing on the cake.

To this day, whenever he saw Tsukishima or talked to him, the taller man called him “King” and it always irritated him to no end. It wouldn’t bother him so much if he didn’t know that Tsukishima said it with the full intent of calling him a selfish tyrant, but he was very slowly learning to let it go. Besides…

Kageyama pushed himself up and pulled the textbook from Kagome’s lap. He folded down the corner of the page she was on as she protested and eventually tossed the book into the floor beside the bed. “I was studying,” she huffed at him. “You know, it’s that thing we need to do to pass classes? That thing that you almost never do and are going to kick yourself for later?”

“Don’t care,” Kageyama replied in his deep voice as he reached up and removed the remaining pencils from her hair causing it to fall down around her shoulders.

Kagome rolled her eyes and tried not to hum as Kageyama sunk his hands into her hair. “I thought you were still exhausted from practice?”

“Don’t care,” he told her again before pulling her face closer to his and pressing his lips to hers. It was soft at first, but as she inhaled sharply and her hands came to rest on his upper arms, he pressed harder into the kiss. He shifted them so that she was lying on her back as he hovered over her and continued to ravish her mouth. He really did love this girl, and he was dead set on showing her just how much. As his lips left hers and scorched a trail up her jaw and down her neck, he could hear her soft pants. One of her hands came up to tangle in the hair along his nape and she softly said his name somewhere between a moan and a whine.

“Tobio, we can’t,” she protested weakly. Breathily, she continued, “There’s studying and we both need our rest.”

“Don’t care,” he repeated between kisses and licks.

“Fine then,” she paused as a shiver ran over her. “What about food? Neither of us have eaten.”

Kageyama pulled back to look at her and plainly lay out that he wouldn’t be distracted when his stomach chose that exact moment to growl like a wild beast. His cheeks pinked as Kagome giggled beneath him. She slowly wiggled her way out from under him and rolled off of their bed. “I’ll go reheat some leftovers, and I can help you review for that test you have tomorrow while we eat.”

When she was out of the room, Kageyama flopped back onto his stomach and grumbled into his pillow once more. If volleyball kings and queens were supposed to be sadistic, he supposed Tsukishima’s nicknames for them weren’t too terribly off base. Stopping his pouting when he heard Kagome’s footsteps approach the room again, he turned his head just enough to see her stick her head back in the bedroom.

 

“Oh, and another thing,” she said with a sunny smile. “If you still have room after dinner and some study time, I might just let you have some dessert before bed.” With a saucy wink thrown his way, she pushed herself away from the doorframe and made her way back to their small kitchen.

Kageyama blinked before smiling one of his darker smiles and pushing himself off of the bed to follow her. Oh yes, he still might not be overly fond of the nickname, but he could handle being the “King” as long as she was his “Queen.”


	4. Yuu Nishinoya

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Haikyuu!! and make no money from these writings.

====================

Volleyball Hearts

Chapter Four: Yuu Nishinoya  
Rating: K  
Prompt: Perseverance  
Requested by: kakashixangela

It was the second match of the day, third set of the match, and they were in a deuce. Noya pulled the towel from around his neck so that he could wipe away the sweat that dripped down his face. Taking another drink of water, he was grateful that the opposing teams coach had called a time out. Both sides of the court were running on empty at this point. More mistakes were being made by both teams as they fought for a two point gap, so they were essentially playing on equally crappy footing. 

Closing his water bottle with a little more force than necessary, Noya fought the urge to grind his teeth. He’d been missing more receives as his energy dwindled and it was eating at him. If he couldn’t keep the damn ball in the air, how were his teammates supposed to score the points they needed to end this ridiculously long game? He pushed a hand into his hair to keep it out of his face and frowned when his fingers came back slightly sticky. That was another thing. Despite the gel he used, all of this sweat was making his hair start to flatten, and it made him look even shorter than usual.

He looked around at his team and bit back a sigh. He was usually the one who tried to pick up their spirits when things were down to the wire like this, but he was so tired and so ready for the match to be over. He just really didn’t know what to say this time.

“Yuu!” Kagome frowned from where she was leaning against the railing in the stands. She’d been trying to get the Libero’s attention since the timeout started, but she wasn’t having much luck. He seemed too lost in his thoughts, and the look on his face worried her. She knew how hard he took it when his receives weren’t on point, but he’d beat himself up even more if they ended up losing the game.

Smacking the bar with an open palm out of sheer frustration, she tried to think of a way to get Noya’s attention. There wasn’t much time left before they had to head back onto the court.

“There’s one other way you could probably get his attention,” a thoughtful voice spoke beside her.

Kagome turned to look up at the man beside her. With light ash-colored hair and a beauty mark under his left eye, Suga was a good bit taller than her, but not as tall as the other two men watching the game with them. The three first year university students had managed to make it out for the day’s matches, and Kagome was thrilled that they had come to support their old team.

Daichi stared down at Kagome. She was in the same class as Yachi and had stopped by the gym during practice one afternoon to return some notes to their blonde manager. Yachi had eagerly introduced her friend to the team, and from then on Kagome would just occasionally drop by to say hello. It hadn’t taken very long for Noya to start flirting, and when she actually laughed at his jokes instead of ignoring him or turning him away, he’d asked her out almost on the spot. Daichi liked the girl and thought she’d be good for the Libero. She was kind and level headed. He thought surely she’d have a calming effect on Noya. He’d been wrong. If anything, Noya always got a little more worked up whenever he saw her, eager to impress his girlfriend.

“You don’t have much time left, so you better hurry,” Daichi told her as he saw the realization dawn in her eyes.

Kagome sighed. Yeah, she knew what she needed to do to get his attention. Even though he was a year older than she was, she didn’t call him that often because of his overly excited reaction to it, but in this situation, it was really all she had. And so, taking a deep breath and cupping her hands around her mouth, she called out, “Nishinoya-senpai!” It was almost comical how fast Noya’s head whipped around at her voice. “Go out there and show them how it’s done! You’ve got this!” She encouraged him with a thumbs up and a bright smile.

Hearing that voice call out that name, Noya’s breath caught in his throat. He turned to see her smiling at him along with the team’s previous third years. That’s right. She was there. She came out to watch him play. She believed in him. His chest tightened as a wide smile split across his face. She came to cheer him on, so he couldn’t very well let her down, could he?

Noya gave Kagome a thumbs up and a bright smile in return before taking a few deep breaths and jumping in place a little to pump himself back up. Wiping his face one last time, he tossed his towel and water bottle aside as the whistle blew to end the short break. “Hey guys!” He called out as they made their way back onto the court. Everyone still looked so tired.

Giving his team his best smile, Noya promised, “I’ll definitely get the next one! I’ve got your backs, so you just focus on getting those points! Got it?”

And with that, it was like new life was breathed into the team. They were still tired and they were still ready for the match to be over, but they weren’t ready to give up just yet. They’d come to win and winning was what they intended to do.

It was lucky for them that the match didn’t last much longer. No matter how willing their fighting spirits were, their bodies could really only go for so long. It was close, but they managed to pull out a win in the end. As they were leaving the gym for the day, knowing they’d be back the next, they all saw Kagome leaning on the railing for the steps with Daichi, Suga, Asahi, and Kiyoko.

When she finally saw the team, Kagome ran up to Noya and wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders. He, in return, caught her and spun around with her a few times before setting her back on the ground. She didn’t let go as she whispered to him, “I knew you could do it.”

“Thanks for the boost there at the end,” he told her quietly before he kissed her cheek and released her from the hug. Draping one arm around his girl’s shoulders, Noya beamed at the rest of the team. “So who wants to get dinner with us?” He asked everyone. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m starving!”

As everyone agreed that dinner together would be fun, Kagome reached up and laced her fingers with the hand that hung over her shoulder. “You did great today,” she told him as she walked to the team’s bus with Noya. “You pushed through right to the very end.”

Noya hummed but smiled brightly nonetheless. “I almost didn’t. That was all you.”

Kagome knew she would ride to the restaurant with the ex-team members, so she pulled Noya aside before he got on the bus and pushed her fingers into his hair. With a little work she was able to fluff it back up and smiled at her handiwork. “There, that’s more like it.” Looking back at Noya’s large brown eyes, she smiled. “Well then, I guess I’ll just have to be at all your games to make sure you always push through.”

“You better be!” With that, he hugged her tightly one last time and said, “See you in a few.”

Kagome waved at him as she trotted off after Daichi and the others, Noya watching her with soft eyes the whole way. He really was lucky to have her. When he finally, turned back to board the bus, he easily slipped back into his more usual tone and cheered “We won!”


	5. Kei Tsukishima

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Haikyuu!! and make no money from these writings.

====================

Volleyball Hearts

Chapter Five: Kei Tsukishima  
Rating: T  
Prompt: Height Difference

“You guys are dating, right?”

Tsukishima paused as he was bending over to pick up one of the many volleyballs on the floor and straightened. Turning to address the person who’d spoken to him, he was greeted with the smiling faces of Tanaka and Noya. And they were pointing towards Kagome who was helping Yachi collect dirty towels and strewn water bottles.

“Yes,” Tsukishima answered hesitantly. He wasn’t sure where they were going with the question, but he was almost certain that he wouldn’t like it. “Why?”

Both of the upperclassmen shrugged as Tanaka spoke, “We’ve just never seen you act like a couple. You’re not all…cuddly with each other.”

Frowning, Tsukishima flatly explained, “I don’t like unnecessary touching.” After thinking for a moment, he added, “Or public displays of affection.”

“I wonder how Kagome feels about that,” Noya mused with a sly look as he glanced in Kagome’s direction. 

Tsukishima followed his gaze and saw Kagome heading their way. His eyes widened marginally and alarms started going off in his head. _‘Abort. Abort. Get out of this conversation. Now.’_

Kagome smiled up at her tall, blond boyfriend and held out her hands. “Want me to take those for you?” She asked as she gestured to the two volleyballs he held.

“Sure,” he said softly as he handed over the brightly colored balls. _‘Take them and go. Please just take them and go.’_

Noting the tense air around Tsukishima and the way Tanaka and Noya were smiling at them, Kagome’s curiosity immediately spiked. “What’s going on with you guys?”

“Ah, nothing much, Kagome,” Tanaka started to wave off the question.

“We were just asking Tsukki why he’s never all lovey-dovey with you,” Noya added.

_‘Crap,’_ Tsukishima thought with an internal sigh. It was an age-old and ongoing argument between them. Kagome, by nature, was very loving and affectionate. He, by nature, was anything but. He really did like her. He never would have asked her out if he didn’t. But lots of touching and cuddling just made him uncomfortable. He was able to loosen up some whenever it was just the two of them, but he didn’t know if he could ever reach that point in front of other people.

“Oh, really,” Kagome drawled as she turned to look at him expectantly. “And what did you tell them, Kei?”

He could feel his his ears begin to redden as she used his first name. “The same thing I always say about it.”

With a small frown, Kagome sighed, “Fine.” She turned and walked away to toss the volleyballs into the bin with the rest.

Tsukishima frowned a little. He knew Kagome would like for him to be a little more free with his affection, and sometimes he wondered if it wouldn’t be worth taking a hit to his pride to make her happy.

“Geez, Tsukishima,” Hinata said as he approached the small gathering. He had a mop in hand and leaned against the handle as he asked, “What’d you say to Kagome? She looks kinda sad.”

“One little kiss wouldn’t kill ya, you know,” Noya laughed as he roughly patted his underclassman on the back.

Tsukishima only hesitated for another moment before he called out. “Kagome.” When she turned to look at him, his words froze in his throat. He’d originally thought to call her back over for a small kiss, but he chickened out at the last second. If he was going to do this, it would be on his terms. Where were his comfort zones? Sarcasm, games, teasing…he could make that work. Taking a breath, he schooled his face into a more teasing expression to cover up his uncertainty and said, “If you can take a kiss, you can have one.”

As Kagome dropped another ball into the bin, she looked at him skeptically. “Here?” When she saw him nod, her face instantly lit up. Running over to the Middle Blocker, she stood on her tip-toes and leaned up for a kiss. And it was then that she realized that she couldn’t reach his lips. Her mouth dropped open in disbelief when she realized that he wasn’t going to bend down to meet her halfway.

“I did say you’d have to reach for it,” Tsukishima informed her with a small smirk. This might be more fun than he’d originally thought.

Kagome jumped up a little to clasp her hands behind his neck. He didn’t budge when she tried to pull him down, so she lifted both of her feet off the floor in an attempt to let her weight do the work. He leaned down all of maybe an inch. It wasn’t enough when she still couldn’t pull herself up to meet him. Putting her feet back on the ground and letting go of him, Kagome took a step back to look him over carefully before an idea struck and she jogged away. “Stay right there!” She called over her shoulder.

The gathering of volleyball players watched as Kagome quickly wheeled the volleyball bin into the storage room. From there they could hear her rummaging around for something.

“Is there seriously not a ladder or step stool in here?!” She called out when her search turned up no results. Stepping out of the room and quickly surveying the gym, Kagome straightened when she found the next best thing. She quickly ran over and grabbed one of the plastic chairs from where they sat against the wall and carried it over to where her boyfriend waited. Setting it directly in front of him, she carefully climbed up to stand on the seat. But when she turned to look at Tsukishima, she had to watch as he smoothly took one long step backwards and away from her. “That’s not fair!”

Tsukishima shrugged with a small smile. “Sorry.”

By this point, much of the rest of the team had gathered to watch the spectacle that Kagome and Tsukishima made in their little game. They called out with different ideas and advice, but none of it worked. The closest she’d gotten so far was leveraging her hands on his shoulders and jumping up to reach his face. She always hesitated though so that their faces wouldn’t smack together, and she wasn’t able to reach in the end.

Panting slightly after many attempts to jump, Kagome playfully glared at her boyfriend. As annoying as he was being, she had to admit that this was a little fun. And judging by the way he was looking at her, she thought that he was having fun too.

“Kagome,” Suga called out with a small motion for her to come closer to where he stood. When she got close enough, he smiled and leaned down to whisper something in her ear.

This wasn’t good. The fact that Suga was finally suggesting something, and doing it quietly so that he couldn’t hear, actually made Tsukishima nervous. Suga was a planner. He was good at waiting quietly, watching, observing, and coming up with a plan of attack. Kagome’s reaction didn’t give him much hope either.

Pulling away from Suga with large eyes, she shook her head. “No, I can’t do that.”

“Or don’t,” Suga told her with a shrug and a happy smile.

Tsukishima watched as Kagome turned to look at him up and down. She bit her bottom lip as she considered whatever Suga had told her, and the small action almost made him want to call off their game and kiss her anyway. With a slightly defeated sigh, Kagome turned away from him and walked past the little half circle the team had formed to watch them. At first he thought that she’d given up. He was wrong.

When she turned to face him again, Tsukishima took an instinctive step back. Before he could really process what was happening, Kagome had quickly closed the gap between them and was in the process of tackling him. With a very undignified yelp, both teens went crashing to the gym floor in a tangle of limbs.

“Ow,” Kagome mumbled as she sat up a little from where she’d been sprawled on his chest. “Yeah, that wasn’t the best plan.” Looking down at the blond under her with a slightly triumphant grin, she amended, “But it worked.”

Tsukishima frowned up at her as he pushed himself up onto his elbows. “Was that really necessary?”

“I really wanted that kiss,” Kagome laughed lightly as she leaned down to softly peck him on the lips. She pulled back and watched as he blushed while she straightened his slightly skewed glasses. “So was that really so bad?”

“The tackle or the kiss?” Tsukishima asked a little grumpily as he listened to his teammates try to hold in their laughter.

“Either?”

“Definitely to the first,” he answered as he used one finger to slide his glasses into their appropriate spot on his nose. He sighed as he saw her face fall a little at his answer. “And not really to the second,” he added. With that he closed the short distance between them to willingly give her another soft kiss. The whole while his cheeks darkened in color as his team began to laugh and whistle behind them.


	6. Tooru Oikawa

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Haikyuu!! and make no money from these writings.

====================

Volleyball Hearts

Chapter Six: Tooru Oikawa  
Rating: K+  
Prompt: Number One Fan

Leaning against the counter in the Oikawa family’s kitchen, Iwaizumi watched his best friend with an almost pained look on his face. For being such a smart guy, Oikawa could be so dumb that it almost hurt sometimes. “You have no idea what you’re doing, do you?”

“No,” Oikawa whined from where he was leaning over the counter with his head resting on folded arms. All around him were his failed attempts at cooking something that was both edible and aesthetically pleasing.

“Why are you even doing this?” Iwaizumi asked with a tired sigh. Oikawa had begged him to come over and help him, but he really didn’t know what the Setter had expected. It wasn’t like either of them knew their way around a kitchen. Their mothers constantly worried about them starving when they would one day go off to college.

“Don’t be stupid!” Oikawa pouted at him as he pushed himself up to lean on his elbows and survey the messy kitchen his mother would surely kill him for later. “This is what you do, right? You like someone, so you make them a bento for lunch.”

Ah. That’s what this was. Running a hand down his face as he buried the want to smack his friend in the back of the head, Iwaizumi spoke slowly in voice as calm as he could manage. “Where did you get that idea?”

Oikawa blinked at him a few times before looking at him like he was stupid and answering, “It’s what all my fans do for me. It’s like an ice breaker. I’ll go up to her, give her a lunch that I lovingly made myself, and she’ll fall for how charming, thoughtful, and caring I am.”

This time Iwaizumi did slap Oikawa in the back of the head. Yeah, he really was painfully stupid sometimes.

But he knew exactly who his friend was talking about. Towards the beginning of the school year, the captain of their school’s girls’ volleyball team had approached Oikawa about having practice matches every now and then, and since she was pretty he had happily agreed while trying to flirt. Then their first practice game against the girls rolled around. And on the girls’ team was a little Libero. She was small, even by girls’ volleyball standards, but damn she was quick. While the boys’ team had won in the end, Oikawa had only been able to get in a couple of service aces by targeting the weaker receivers. The Libero had been on top of recovering all the others. From then on, Oikawa had been absolutely smitten.

He’d found out her name easily enough by asking around. Kagome Higurashi. Second year student. Class 2-2. She was only five-foot-two, but her footwork, speed, and receives were top-notch.

As he watched his friend double-check the different recipes that he’d pulled offline, Iwaizumi shook his head and started cleaning up the food that was completely beyond saving. Honestly, he wasn’t sure who he felt more sorry for, Oikawa or Higurashi. The girl more or less had a stalker and probably wasn’t even aware of it. Hell, he doubted Oikawa realized what he was doing was bordering on creepy. The third year captain went to watch the girls practice whenever he was able and was at every game that didn’t conflict with something the boys’ team had going on. He studied her in every possible way. He knew how she moved and how she played. He would often ramble off to Iwaizumi different flaws and holes he’d noticed and would like to give her pointers on or the forms and techniques that he would like to learn to copy for himself. But beyond that, beyond volleyball, he’d subtly interrogated the girl’s friends and classmates. Her favorite color was green. Her favorite food was oden, but she liked omelettes too. She was bad at math, but excelled at history. She had a brother who lived in Tokyo, but she was living with an aunt to attend Aoba Jousai. Oikawa knew just about everything about the girl that there was to know without talking to her directly.

But as bad as he felt for Higurashi for having such an idiot interested in her, be probably felt a little worse for his friend. He was a smooth talker and could flirt with the best, but most people didn’t realize just how awkward Tooru Oikawa really was. Aside from his fangirls who he only had the most shallow of interactions with, he really didn’t talk to girls all that often. Iwaizumi could only recall him ever having one girlfriend and that hadn’t lasted long. She’d dumped him when it was obvious that volleyball would always come first. 

Oikawa hummed in irritation as he held up two recipes. “Which one should I try next?”

“You’re out of eggs, dumbass,” Iwaizumi told him after checking in the refrigerator. “Besides, your reason for doing this is stupid.”

“No it’s not!” Oikawa protested as he set his recipes aside. “I told you, this is what you’re supposed to do. But it’s okay that you don’t know that. It must be a hard life, no girls paying you any attention because I’m always with you.”

Iwaizumi grabbed a nearby spoon and chucked it Oikawa’s head. “That’s not it, you ass! How often do girls make stuff like this for you?”

“All the time,” Oikawa answered as he went to pick up the spoon and drop it in the sink.

“And how often do you actually eat those lunches?”

Oikawa opened his mouth to answer but quickly shut it as realization hit him. He would usually just try one or two bites before making some excuse for why he couldn’t eat the rest at the moment. Groaning at the wasted time, effort, and eggs, he stepped out of the kitchen to plop himself in one of the chairs at the breakfast table. He rubbed his right knee as it ached from him standing for so long without his knee supporter. “What am I supposed to do now, Iwa-chan?”

Cleaning up the rest of the failed cooking so that Oikawa’s mom wouldn’t be too upset, Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. “Talk to her?”

“About what?! The bento was supposed to be my ice breaker,” Oikawa said as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms across his chest.

“Are you really this stupid?” Iwaizumi snapped. “You both play the same sport! Talk about that.”

Oikawa snorted at his friend. “Like you know anything about talking to girls.”

Iwaizumi flushed a little because he really didn’t have much more experience with the opposite sex than Oikawa did. “I’d obviously be better at it than you…Asskawa.”

The next day when lunch rolled around, Oikawa was bento-less and whining to Iwaizumi that he should have just asked his mom to make a cute bento for him. Feeling every bit like a creeper, Iwaizumi with Oikawa in line to buy bread. And what a coincidence that they happened to be standing right behind Kagome Higurashi.

“Talk to her,” Iwaizumi whispered harshly.

“No,” Oikawa bit back under his breath. “I don’t have anything to say yet.”

As Iwazumi watched Oikawa open and close his mouth in several attempts to say something, anything, to the girl in front of them, he decided that he’d had absolutely enough of this weird fan-crush. Placing one hand firmly between Oikawa’s shoulder blades, he gave one good shove and watched as his friend stumbled forward and crash right into the girls’ Libero.

Oikawa was able to catch himself with one hand on the bread counter while his chest and other hand were pressed against Kagome’s back and shoulder. Whipping his head around, he shouted angrily, “Iwa-chan!” But Iwaizumi was already walking away from the bread line and waving over his shoulder. Turning back to the girl he’d fallen against, Oikawa righted himself and checked her over. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry, my friend pushed me.”

“I’m fine,” Kagome reassured as she smoothed down her skirt. As she got a look at who had fallen against her, she realized that she knew his face. “Oikawa, right? You’re the captain for the boys’ team.”

“Uh…yeah,” Oikawa responded eloquently.

“I’m Kagome Higurashi,” she smiled up at him. “I’m the girls’ Libero.”

“I know!” Oikawa excitedly told her. He was actually talking to her! And he didn’t even need a bento!

“You do?”

Oh. Rubbing the back of his neck in slight embarrassment, Oikawa confessed, “I remember you from our practice games. And I’ve see you practice. And play in your games.” His mouth ran away with him before he could stop it.

“Really?” Kagome asked in shock. “Why?” She laughed.

Just as Oikawa was opening his mouth to likely stick his foot in it again, a student behind them cleared their throat pointedly and they realized that they were holding up the line. 

Reaching for their lunch at the same time, Kagome and Oikawa’s hands bumped into each other as they both reached for the same thing. “Milk bread?” He asked her as his eyes lit up.

“Yeah,” Kagome answered as she reached for a different one from the same bin. “It’s really good here.”

When Oikawa saw her reaching for her money, he stopped her and paid for both of their lunches before they stepped out of line.

“Thanks, but you didn’t need to do that,” she told him as she fidgeted a little. She really didn’t want to feel like she owed him. He seemed like a nice enough guy, but she knew that he had a reputation as a ladies man and flirt.

“It’s the least I could do after running into you,” he told her with a genuine smile.

Iwaizumi watched from a little way down the hall as Oikawa asked Kagome if she would sit outside and have lunch with him. She looked skeptical at first but eventually gave in. Good for her. Oikawa really didn’t need to be with someone who would fall over themselves to be around him. Pushing away from the wall he was leaning against, Iwaizumi made his way back to the bread line now that the problem with his awkward Setter was taken care of. For the moment, anyway.


	7. Kenma Kozume

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Haikyuu!! and make no money from these writings.

====================

Volleyball Hearts

Chapter Seven: Kenma Kozume  
Rating: K  
Prompt: Koneko

It was a Nekoma Halloween tradition. Well, Kuroo claimed it was. In all truthfulness, it was their first year doing it, and Kuroo, being captain, had made participation mandatory. The first years went along with it happily, but whenever a second or third year questioned how it was a “tradition,” they were promptly told to shut their cake holes.

And so, with cat ears on their heads and tails attached to their belts, the Nekoma boys’ volleyball team plus their recently acquired lady manager hit the streets of Tokyo to see what they could get into. Kagome claimed that the only reason she was tagging along was to make sure that nobody got carried away or arrested. She was almost positive that Kuroo had plans for the Fukurodani captain’s house involving toilet paper, and she was determined to put a stop to it.

Looking around their group, Kagome smiled at the variety of cats that they had among them. There were black cats, white cats, gray cats, and even a couple of calico cats. The only exception was Inuoka. Kuroo had tossed him a matching set of dog ears and tail, and everyone had agreed that it really was more fitting. And while she had protested going out with the large group of young men, Kagome had ended up getting surprisingly into it. Some closet rummaging had turned up a black A-line dress and a pair of black flats. It had been easy enough to sew her long black tail onto the back of the dress, and a set of black, triangular ears sat on top of her head. A little bit of pink lipstick on the tip of her nose and some lines of black eyeliner on her cheeks completed her costume. Of course, when they guys saw her makeup, they wanted noses and whiskers too. So in the end they either had a pink nose or a black nose and everyone had whiskers.

“Come on, slackers! Keep up!” Kuroo called over his shoulder, and Kagome knew that he was talking to her and Kenma.

Kagome tugged a little more on Kenma’s arm, and he grunted a little before increasing his pace. The Setter really didn’t want to be out, and she knew that. So in an effort to make sure that he wouldn’t completely hate the night out, she’d offered him her arm. She would be the one to guide him through crowds and make sure he didn’t run into poles so that he could still look down and play his games while being out with everyone. Peeking over his arm, Kagome stared at the screen in interest before asking, “What are you playing?”

“Pokemon,” Kenma answered softly as he glanced down at Kagome before returning to his game.

Kagome hummed. “I think my brother plays that, but I’ve never really watched him before.”

While he kept his eyes on the dual-screened console in his hands, Kenma knew that Kagome was still watching him play and it caused a light blush to rise to his cheeks. Kagome hadn’t been part of the team for very long, but he was surprisingly comfortable around her. She didn’t seem to judge him for being quiet or into video games or for his two-toned hair. She just tried to talk to him because she wanted to. And really, he thought that there was something comforting about her presence, something soft. It was because he’d warmed up to her so quickly that Kuroo often teased him about liking their first year manager. The fact that he never confirmed or denied the accusations didn’t help anything.

Kagome liked being around Kenma. He was easy to get along with and a calm presence in the craziness that was the Nekoma team. He’d been hesitant to talk to her at first, but after a few attempts, he’d finally started answering her when she asked him something. He still didn’t offer up much or respond much more beyond few words in his answers, but his actions spoke louder than that anyway. He let her touch him when he shied away from most of the others on the team. He let her watch him play his games while usually turning the screen away from anyone else. He let her get close to him. And that made her smile.

The two walked for a while, both paying more attention to the screen in Kenma’s hands than where they were going, and by the time Kagome looked up again, she realized that they had a small problem. The team wasn’t anywhere in sight, and she didn’t recognize any of the buildings around them. “Kenma? Do you know where we are?”

Kenma’s head lifted quickly at Kagome’s question and he frowned. Shaking his head, he looked down at her and answered, “No.”

Trying not to smile at the way the calico kitty ears shifted on top of his head, Kagome sighed. “What do you think we should do? I don’t have my phone on me.” Patting the sides of her dress, she shrugged, “No pockets.”

Kenma patted the pocket of his team jacket and felt the hard rectangular shape of his phone before reaching his hand into his pocket and pulling it out. He closed his game and tucked it into his pocket before pulling up Kuroo’s number from his contacts list. The phone rang several times before the other end was picked up and Kenma calmly spoke, “I’m lost.” Looking down at the young woman next to him, he added, “Kagome’s lost with me.”

Kagome winced a little as Kenma pulled the phone away from his ear when Kuroo yelled. She could vaguely make out the sound of him yelling at the other members of the team and asking if none of them had noticed that the two had gotten separated. Putting the phone on speaker, Kenma held it out between them so that Kagome could hear too.

“ _Where are you now?_ ” Kuroo asked over the phone with a sigh.

“If we knew that we wouldn’t be lost,” Kenma pointed out.

“ _I know that. I meant what’s around you?_ ”

“I don’t see any street signs,” Kagome said as she looked around them.

“There are some shops,” Kenma offered. “I can send you some pictures.”

“ _Yeah, do that,_ ” Kuroo told them. “ _I’ve been to this part of town a few times, so I should be able to find you easy enough. Just hang tight for a few minutes and we’ll be on our way._ ”

Realization hit Kagome like a ton of bricks and she grabbed Kenma’s wrist to pull the phone closer to her. “Kuroo! You leave Bokuto’s house alone! Do you hear me?”

“ _Yeah, yeah,_ ” Kuroo grumbled into the receiver. “ _Just send me the pictures so I can come find you. Later._ ”

Conversation over, Kenma hung up and snapped a few pictures of the nearby storefronts to send to his childhood friend. He looked over at Kagome when she sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. “He’s going to TP Bokuto’s house, isn’t he?”

“Probably,” Kenma answered honestly as the last of the pictures were sent. Feeling a slight tug on his sleeve, he looked down at Kagome.

“It looks like there’s a bench down on that corner. Let’s go sit down,” she suggested as she pulled on his arm a little.

When they were situated on the bench to wait for the team to find them, Kenma pulled his game back out and started playing again. He wasn’t that surprised when Kagome scooted a little closer and leaned over to watch him play. “So Pokemon, huh?”

“Yeah,” he confirmed as he tilted the screen towards her a little so that she could see better. She moved even closer to him, and when she finally settled, she was leaning against his shoulder, still watching him play. He bumped his sneakered feet together awkwardly as he felt some heat rise to his cheeks, and he really hoped that she would assume that it was from the cold air if she noticed. But his thoughts were pulled away from his anxiety and towards Kagome when he felt her shaking. Looking down, he saw that she had her arms pulled in close to her side and was rubbing the bare skin that was being chilled by the late October night. “Are you cold?” He asked quietly.

Looking up a little surprised, Kagome laughed awkwardly and nodded. “Yeah, I really should have grabbed a sweater or something, but wasn’t thinking when I left the house.”

Kenma frowned a little before coming to a decision. He didn’t like to be cold, but he didn’t like seeing Kagome cold even more. Silently handing off his game to her, he unzipped his jacket and slid it off before draping it over her shoulders. “There.”

“What? No, Kenma, I don’t want to take your jacket!” She protested as she started to push it off of herself.

“I’m fine,” he told her as he looked back down at the game in her hands. Changing the subject should get her mind off of his jacket that he was pushing back into place. “You’ve been watching me play. Do you want to try?”

“No, no, no,” Kagome laughed. “This is your game. Besides, I have no idea how to play.”

“I’ll show you,” he offered as he moved closer to her so that he could see the screen. “Go walk around in that grass over there.”

Hesitating for a moment, Kagome finally gave in and directed the little character on the screen to walk into a patch of tall grass. After a little wandering around, the screen flashed a little and cut away to a battle scene between herself and a little fluffy animal. Reading the name at the top of the screen, she questioned, “Eevee? It’s cute!”

Kenma hummed in agreement. “See the green bar under Eevee’s name? Use attacks to try to get it down into the yellow. Red is even better. It’s easier to catch that way.”

“You catch it?” Kagome asked as she tapped the points on the screen that Kenma pointed out.

“Yeah,” he told her as he watched her first attack hit. “I haven’t caught an Eevee in this game yet, and they can be useful.”

Kagome repeated the attack move a couple of times and was getting ready to try to catch the little creature on her next turn when her current attack hit and the Eevee’s health bar went completely empty. “What?!” Kagome cried. “What happened? None of the other attacks did that much damage!”

Kenma shrugged. “It was a critical hit. It happens sometimes. You just have to find another one and try again.”

Now fully determined not to let a game get the better of her, Kagome finally slipped her arms into the jacket’s sleeves and focused her attention on finding another Eevee. It took a few tries and a few battles against other pokemon that popped up, but another Eevee finally appeared and she was dead set on catching it.

Kenma watched as Kagome followed the steps that he’d shown her. Looking over at her, his stomach twisted a little and he hesitated a few times, but he eventually worked up the nerve to reach one arm around her shoulders and place his hand on her shoulder opposite him. He flinched and waited for her to tell him to move, but she never did. She actually leaned into him a little more as she bit her bottom lip and played the game. He had to admit that with the pink cat nose and black whiskers, it was a pretty adorable sight.

Suddenly, Kagome jumped a little and pulled him out of his thoughts. “I caught it!” She cried as she turned to look at him in excitement. “Look! I actually caught it this time!” He took the game back as she pushed it into his hands and tapped the top screen a couple of times.

“You can name it now, you know,” he told her as he looked down at the Eevee that she’d caught for him.

“You should name it,” she told him with a smile. “It’s your game, after all.”

Looking at the gender of the little pokemon that she’d caught, he saw that it was a girl. _‘Not very common for an Eevee,’_ he thought before typing in a few characters for the new name. He quickly closed the game after that and tucked it into his pocket to pull out his phone again. Checking the time, he noted, “Kuroo shouldn’t be too far away now. Hopefully.” He glanced over at Kagome and paused when he saw that she was watching him with a smile. Unsure of what else to do, he asked, “Yes?”

“Thanks for letting me play your game, Kenma. I had fun.” She shrugged a little before continuing, “I know you don’t let a lot of people touch your games, so I appreciate it.” Remembering the warmth surrounding her upper body, she also added, “And thanks for letting me wear your jacket, even though I’m sure you have to be cold too.”

“It’s not a big deal,” he told her as he diverted his gaze and stared down at his phone that was still in his hands. He stiffened a little when he felt her move towards him, and his eyes closed when she pushed some of his dyed hair behind his ear and planted a soft kiss against his cheek. When she pulled away, he slowly turned to look at her with wide, surprised eyes.

“Thanks for everything tonight,” she smiled brightly.

Before he got the chance to reply, Kuroo’s voice cut through the area and they both turned to see the captain walking towards them. “Hey you two,” he grinned when he saw how close they were sitting together. “Cozy?”

“We were cold,” Kenma told him plainly.

“I can see,” Kuroo smirked when he noted that Kagome was wearing Kenma’s team jacket. “Well,” he sighed, “the rest of the team is back that way. We should probably head home before you two get lost again.”

“Ha ha, very funny,” Kagome said as she stood and brushed off the skirt of her dress. She had just started to unzip the jacket she wore when Kenma stopped her.

“You can wear it until we get back,” he told her in a soft voice.

Kagome laughed lightly as she told him, “You’re too sweet to me, Kenma.” It was then that the rest of the team started calling their names as they rounded the corner and saw them. Waving, Kagome trotted off to assure them that they were fine.

“You’re too sweet to her, huh?” Kuroo teased as he nudged Kenma’s shoulder.

Glaring at his friend a little before looking back to Kagome, Kenma grumbled, “Shut up.” He watched as the rest of the guys greeted Kagome energetically and ruffled her hair in relief. She swatted at their hands and righted her cat ears, and Kenma smiled at the sight. When Kuroo was suspiciously quiet, he looked up that the taller boy and asked, “What?”

Kuroo leaned down to examine his friend’s face in the glow of the streetlight. “You have a little triangle of pink lipstick on your cheek,” he said. “Has someone been getting kisses from the kitten?”

Kenma’s eyes widened and he realized that some of Kagome’s makeup must have rubbed off when her nose pressed against his cheek during her kiss. He quickly pulled up his phone’s front-facing camera and checked his face. Wiping away the bit of pink with the pad of his thumb while avoiding his black whiskers, Kenma turned off his phone and put it away.

“Come on, you guys!” Kagome called back at them from where she stood waiting with the rest of the team.

“Yeah, come on, lover boy,” Kuroo said as he walked past Kenma, nudging him with his elbow as he went.

Pulling his game out of his pants pocket, Kenma opened it back up. Honestly, he just wanted a reason to look down so that none of his teammates would notice the blush staining his cheeks. He made his way to the nearest Pokemon Center and put his new Eevee in his team so that he could start training it. He’d wanted a Sylveon for a while now. Somehow, he thought as he glanced up at where Kagome was laughing with Lev and Yamamoto, evolving the Eevee into the pink and blue fairy type would really suit its namesake.


	8. Ryuunosuke Tanaka

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Haikyuu!! and make no money from these writings.

====================

Volleyball Hearts

Chapter Eight: Ryuunosuke Tanaka  
Rating: K+  
Prompt: “Quiet” by Lights

Tanaka wasn’t sure when the little routine had started, but it was something that he’d started looking forward to every evening. Some months ago, a girl had moved in next door to him and his sister. Kagome. Apparently the elderly couple next door were her maternal grandparents. She and him were the same age and went to the same school, though they weren’t in the same class, and his sister teased him on more than one occasion about having a crush on the pretty girl next door.

And Saeko wasn’t wrong, but like hell he was actually going to tell her that.

The truth was that he really did like Kagome. He never thought he’d like someone with the same intensity that he like Kiyoko, but it turned out that having your crush actually carry on a conversation with you and laugh at what even you knew were dumb jokes felt really good. Kagome was his friend, and he was fine with that for now. He liked walking to school together and studying together and occasionally having dinner at each other’s houses.

But his favorite thing had become their almost nightly ritual. On clear nights, after homework, after dinner, after a bath, Kagome always walked across the street to the slope of the nearby riverbank and laid in the grass to watch the stars. Tanaka wasn’t sure if she’d invited him one evening or if he’d joined her himself, but he always settled down beside her in the grass not long after.

He was active and energetic by nature. He was always running around, playing sports, messing around with his friends after practice, so just lying quietly watching the stars wasn’t something he’d ever really taken the time to do. But he actually kind of liked it now that he’d tried it. Though that may have had just as much to do with the company as the activity.

They never really talked during these times together. It was just two friends enjoying clear starry nights together. And that’s exactly why he had no idea what spurred him on to what he did next.

Lying in the grass, Tanaka reached down to tug his shirt down so that he didn’t have grass tickling his back. It was when he got readjusted and was moving his hands to a more comfortable position than his fingers brushed against Kagome’s hand and he froze. He glanced in her direction and she didn’t seem to have even noticed. It was a split second decision on his part, but when he slid his slightly trembling hand into Kagome’s much smaller one, he almost stopped breathing.

He was holding her hand. Was that the right call? Would she get upset? What could this do to their friendship? His heart was hammering away and his stomach was twisting in knots, but he tried to keep his breathing normal so that he at least looked composed on the outside. In his periphery, he saw Kagome turn her head to look at him, and he tensed, eyes firmly fixed on the sky, waiting for any kind of negative reaction. She stared at him for what seemed like forever and he was just about to retract his hand and apologize when he felt her hand shift to lace their fingers together. All it took was one little squeeze from her hand for his brain to completely shut down.

She turned to watch the stars once more, but his mind was on anything but the little dots of light. He’d instigated it, but he had _no clue_ what to do now. All he could think about was how warm her hand felt in his. It dawned on him just how much smaller her hands were than his, and while much of her skin was soft, he noticed a few calluses and wondered how she’d gotten them. He knew that his face had to be red, he could feel the heat in his cheeks, and he was _so_ glad that it was dark out.

They stayed like that for several more minutes before Kagome sat up, letting go of his hand, to stretch out her back and stand up. Tanaka followed suit and stood while brushing off his shorts. He was wondering if this had been a one-time thing or if it had possibly meant even half as much to her as it had to him, but when he looked up and saw Kagome waiting for him with her hand extended towards him, his heart leapt into his throat. Swallowing it back down, he took her hand and they quietly walked back across the road towards their homes.

Stopping before they went their separate ways, he tried to think of something to say but kept coming up empty. So he was taken by surprise when he felt Kagome tug down on his arm a little as she rose up on her toes to kiss his cheek, startlingly close to the corner of his mouth. “Goodnight, Ryuu,” she smiled up at him before loosening her grip on his hand and stepping back a little.

But before she could completely leave him and before he could over-think his actions, or think about them at all, Tanaka closed the small gap between them and lightly covered her lips with his. His free hand came up, hesitated for a second, and finally gently touched her cheek, fingertips just barely pushing into her dark hair. He could hear her inhale quickly out of surprise and thought he’d made a horrible mistake until he felt a light pressure push back against his lips. It wasn’t heated or passionate, just a soft, chaste kiss under the stars they always watched together. In his opinion, it was perfect.

When he finally pulled back, he looked over Kagome’s face for her reaction and had to try not to smile like an idiot when she blinked up at him with wide eyes as her cheeks flushed. What really gave him hope was the small uptilt of the corners of her lips, and he decided that it was probably best to stop while he was ahead. “G-” His throat had been so tight that he choked a little on the first sound he tried to make and had to clear his throat before trying again. “G’night, Kagome.” Finally letting his hand slip from hers, they both quietly walked to their front doors and he saw her wave at him before heading inside.

Once he was safely inside and the door was shut behind him, Tanaka felt the reality of the night hit him full force and released a shaky sigh. _Holy crap._ He could feel his face heating up again and quickly ran to his room before his sister could see him and bug him about what had happened.

Safely alone in his bedroom, he flopped back onto his bed and just couldn’t seem to calm down. It felt like his whole body was vibrating just underneath his skin. Grabbing his phone off of his nightstand, he flipped it open and brought up his text messages. If he didn’t share this, he was pretty sure he’d explode, and he knew at least one person who’d be as happy for him as he was. It only took a moment to type out a message to Noya, _Dude, you’re not gonna believe my night._


	9. Tetsurou Kuroo

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Haikyuu!! and make no money from these writings.

====================

Volleyball Hearts

Chapter Nine: Tetsurou Kuroo  
Rating: T  
Prompt: “Cop Car” by Keith Urban

“Kuroo,” Kagome hissed under her breath as the tall boy tugged her along by her hand. She wanted to be mad. Really, she did. But she couldn’t stop the nervous laughter that escaped her as they slipped through the door that lead to Nekoma High School’s swimming pool. “I can’t believe you brought me here.”

“Why not?” Kuroo smirked down at her in the dim room. Wanting to avoid getting caught in the pool after school hours, they didn’t turn on any lights so the only illumination came from the city lights shining through the windows. “You said you wanted to do something for a date, didn’t you?”

Kagome sighed. “This is _definitely_ different, but I wasn’t really talking about trespassing.”

“We’re both students here,” Kuroo brushed off. “How much trouble could we really get into?”

“A lot,” Kagome answered as she smiled at him in spite of herself. Sometimes she wanted to curse him and how charming that stupid grin of his could be. “Besides, you didn’t tell me we were coming here. I don’t have a swimsuit.”

Kuroo’s smile widened and he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. “You don’t need a swimsuit to skinny dip,” he pointed out.

“Ohhhh no. Nope. No way. Not a chance,” Kagome protested as she pressed her hands to his chest and pushed as far away as his arms would allow her. “There is _no way_ you’re getting me to _skinny dip_ in the _school pool_.”

Rolling his eyes around as he feigned trying to come up with another idea, he offered, “What about underwear? It covers about as much as a bikini, right?”

Kagome glared up at the volleyball captain who was almost a foot taller than she was, but when his all-too-pleased-with-himself grin didn’t fade at all, she finally sighed and poked him in the chest. “Fine,” she agreed. “But you have to turn around while I take off my clothes and if I even _think_ I hear someone, we’re leaving. Okay?”

“Deal,” Kuroo agreed in satisfaction as he placed a kiss on top of his petite girlfriend’s head. Turning around as he’d promised, he listened to the light rustling of clothes, resisting the temptation to peek even a little, and didn’t turn back around until he heard the quiet sloshing sound of Kagome slipping into the water. When he turned back around, Kagome was at the pool’s edge, arms crossed along the ledge, waiting for him to join her. 

Well, he certainly wasn’t shy. He had no problem pulling his shirt off over his head and letting his jeans fall down around his ankles, leaving him in just a pair of black boxer briefs. He also couldn’t deny that he really liked the way Kagome blushed as he kept eye contact the entire time. Despite his teasing, he knew that they really should make as little noise as possible, so he quietly slipped into the water instead of diving.

Kagome watched as Kuroo submerged himself completely before coming back up with his normally wild black hair flat and pushed completely out of his face. She laughed a little as she reached out to touch the left side of his face which she rarely saw. “This is different,” she told him. “I like it.”

“Yeah,” he grumbled while running a hand over his wet hair. “I can only get it out of my face when it’s wet.”

“Maybe I could help you try to tame it sometime,” Kagome offered as she watched a couple of areas already trying to spike back up a little. “That is,” she continued as she pushed away from him and swam backwards, “if you can catch me.”

With a predatory grin, Kuroo was more than happy to give chase, and after much splashing and Kagome trying not to squeal when he almost caught her a few times, he finally backed her into a corner of the pool. Once again winding his arms around Kagome’s waist, he pulled her flush against him and enjoyed the way her warm skin felt against his in the cold water. “Caught you,” he teased her in a sing-song voice.

Laughing while she rolled her eyes, Kagome agreed, “Fine, I’ll come help you do your hair on our next day off.”

“I think I’d rather have something else,” Kuroo mused with a small hum.

“And what’s that?”

Without another word, Kuroo leaned in and captured Kagome’s lips with his. He hummed deep in his throat when her arm wrapped around his neck and he felt her fingers play with his hair. He pushed her so that she was pinned between the pool wall and his chest and allowed his hands to wander from her waist to her smooth thighs which he coaxed into wrapping around his hips. He was just starting to deepen their kiss when the creak of the pool doors echoed through the large room. Eyes snapping open immediately, he looked up to see two flashlights shining right on them. “Damn,” he muttered quietly.

\--------------------

Some time later, he and Kagome sat in the back of a police car, clothes slightly damp from their soaked underwear and hair and not having any towels. It turned out that a couple of on-duty officers had seen them entering the school grounds after dark and had followed after them. They’d lost sight of them in the dark, but had eventually tracked them down due to all of the splashing. Kuroo could only hope that Kagome wasn’t too mad. Chancing a glance over at her, he saw her shoulders shaking and thought she was crying at first. That is, until he heard her muffled laughter and he became thoroughly confused. “Are you seriously laughing?” He asked in surprise. “I thought you’d be mad.”

“Oh,” Kagome said through giggles. “I’m going to strangle you later,” she assured him. “But we’re sitting in a _squad car_ with _wet underwear_ while the police are outside talking about gods know what. I’m probably laughing so that I don’t have a meltdown at what my mother is going to say about this, but what else can I really do right now?”

Kuroo watched, slightly amazed, as Kagome continued to laugh and push her damp hair out of her face. The flashes of blue from the police lights reflected in the water that clung to her hair and skin, and Kuroo thought that it made her look like she sparkled. He’d talked her into trespassing on school property, borderline skinny dipping, quite possibly gotten her arrested, and she was _laughing_. Contagious as it was, his deep laughter soon filled the car as well.

He already knew that she was special, but in that moment he realized just how amazing Kagome really was and he fell all that harder for her. When he caught his breath from laughing, he quickly leaned over her, grabbed her flushed face, and picked up where they’d left off in the pool. The only thing flooding his mind was Kagome, her sound of her laughter, and the way she was willing to laugh through the bad times with him. He practically had her pressed against the door, one hand running under the edge of her shirt, before the door on the opposite side of the car opened and one of the officers said, “Okay, lovebirds, _out_.”

At least having the decency to blush at getting caught making out in the back of a cop car, Kuroo cleared his throat, pulled himself away from Kagome and slid out of the car before offering her a hand out as well.

“You’re both students here?” One of the policemen asked as he held up their student ID’s which he’d taken from their wallets. When the two teenagers nodded, the man gave them a flat look and sighed. “Well since neither of you have a record, we took down your names and we’re going to call your school in the morning and let them handle it however they see fit.” When he saw the relief flood through the couple, he warned, “But we better not catch you out here again, got it?”

“Yes, sir,” Kagome and Kuroo answered dutifully, though one sounded much more sincere than the other. When they each got their wallets and ID’s back, the police sent them on their way and they waited until they rounded the next corner before breaking out into laughter again.

“That was definitely a different kind of date,” Kagome breathed as she leaned her back against a nearby wall. “I think I’ll be okay with just going to the movies for a while.”

Kuroo watched Kagome try to take deep breaths to calm her amped up nerves from the whole night’s experience and smiled widely until he saw her shiver a little. The night air was a little on the cool side and being damp really didn’t help. “Here,” he said as he slipped out of his volleyball jacket. Helping her slip it on, he draped one arm around her shoulders before he offered, “I’ll walk you home.” As they walked down the sidewalk together and Kagome pressed herself into his side to keep warm, Kuroo thought about how he could see himself with Kagome for a long time to come. She was willing to play along with his wilder ideas and teased as easily as he did. “So...you still going to help me with my hair?”

“After you almost got me arrested?” She countered in a disbelieving tone though she wore a smile the whole time. “Why don’t you work on making that up to me and then we’ll talk about your hair.”

The walk back to the Higurashi shrine was mostly Kuroo listing off obvious attempts at flattery and bribery and Kagome countering every offer. And they were happy like that. They might make dumb decisions occasionally, but as long as they were together, neither really could have cared less.


	10. Koutarou Bokuto

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Haikyuu!! and make no money from these writings.

====================

Volleyball Hearts

Chapter Ten: Koutarou Bokuto  
Rating: T

Kagome was just checking to make sure that her wallet was in her purse when her phone rang from where it sat on her dresser. Thinking that it was one of her friends checking to make sure she was going to be on time for their day out, she hurried to answer it but paused when she saw the caller’s name on the screen. _Keiji Akaashi_. Oh no. Akaashi didn’t call her often, but it usually meant trouble of some sort when he did.

“Hello?” She answered as she flipped her phone open and held it to her ear.

“ _Kagome, it’s Akaashi,_ ” the second-year setter said tiredly. “ _I’m sorry to bother you...again._ ”

“It’s okay, Akaashi,” Kagome reassured. “I know you wouldn’t call if you didn’t have a reason, so what’s going on this time?”

She could hear him sigh heavily into his phone before answering with a small amount of concern in his voice, “ _He won’t get out of bed._ ” He paused for a few seconds before explaining in a quieter tone, “ _He’s not being immature about it, he just...he won’t move._ ”

A red flag went up in Kagome’s mind and she quickly told Akaashi, “I’ll be there in a couple of minutes.” With that, she ended the call, tossed her phone in her purse, headed downstairs. Giving her mother a kiss on the cheek before she slipped on her shoes, Kagome jogged to the back of the shrine’s property and pushed open a rarely used gate. From there it was a trip down a short set of stairs, through a narrow back street, and up half a block before she reached a very familiar house.

She’d been there so many times over the years that she’d long ago started letting herself in after only a couple of knocks to announce her presence. Waving to Bokuto’s mother as she passed by the kitchen, Kagome made her way upstairs to the room of her closest childhood friend. And, as expected, she spotted Akaashi waiting outside of Bokuto’s bedroom, leaning against the wall in his volleyball pants and jacket. “Game today?” She asked as she approached.

Akaashi nodded and said, “And we need to be at the school in an hour.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” she told the taller boy as she quietly opened the door and slipped into the dark room.

As much as she hated it, this wasn’t terribly uncommon. Bokuto had his highs and his lows and sometimes his days started out a little extra low. Setting her purse on his desk and slipping off her shoes, she walked across the room to kneel down beside his bed. “Kou?” She asked in a soft voice.

Their relationship had a long history. She and her mother, who’d still been pregnant with Souta at the time, had moved to the Higurashi family shrine when she was six. Until then, they’d lived in an entirely different city, so Kagome hadn’t known any of the kids in the neighborhood. She’d also been on the small side for her age, and it made her an easy target for the local bullies. She would never forget the first time she met Bokuto, though. 

The mean boys who’d been about two years older than she was had stolen her school bag on her way home and were playing keep-away. While she’d been trying to hold it back, Kagome was just about on the verge of tears when someone yelled at them from a little way down the sidewalk. And there he’d been. His hair had been black back then and he’d been smaller than all but one of the bullies, but Bokuto hadn’t hesitated to get into a fight on her behalf and retrieve her bag for her, a complete stranger. He’d even walked her home and done his best to cheer her up along the way.

And that had been their start. He was a year older than she was, but they went to the same school and would often walk together. They played together and often spent the night with each other on weekends. Bokuto had been her best friend, and he never cared that the other boys teased him for being friends with a girl.

There had been problems though. Even as a kid, Bokuto had been prone to mood swings, and with the temper that she’d always had, they were prone to fights when their attitudes clashed. At least, that was until one day her mother had sat her down and explained that Bokuto couldn’t control his moods very well on his own. She’d explained that it was a type of illness that affected his moods and that he and his parents were working on making it better but that she needed to be there for him and be patient as well.

So that’s what she’d done. When a shift would happen, Kagome didn’t let it annoy her. She tried to help him through it. And that became part of who they were. He was her protector who made her laugh and she was the friend who helped keep him stable.

Then _that year_ had happened. Bokuto had graduated from middle school and gone to high school while she was left behind. He was at a different school and starting up club activities that he often had to stay and practice for, and she...well, she’d been pulled into the past and gone on an incredible journey. And they didn’t see each other for almost an entire year. They drifted apart some, and it wasn’t until he spotted her at Fukurodani’s opening ceremony the following school year that they began to reconnect. It hadn’t taken them long, but it also didn’t take long for Kagome to notice that the hormone shifts of puberty had made Bokuto’s moods a little more extreme. That was how they’d fallen back into their old roles, just in different ways.

She was there to keep him grounded during his highs and moving during his lows - even meeting his team and exchanging phone numbers with a few of them, just in case - and he was there to protect her from the bad dreams and memories and hug her without question when his white hair and amber eyes occasionally made her cry from half-buried emotions. They were older and different and a little more worse for wear, but they were still best friends and exactly what the other needed.

“Kou?” Kagome called out again a little louder, and she leaned back when the hidden lump under the comforter shifted.

The only noise was the sound of rustling sheets as the edges of the blankets lifted in a silent invitation which she accepted. As Kagome climbed under the covers and settled in, she grabbed Bokuto’s phone off of the nightstand and set it between them so that there would be something to illuminate the darkness a little. “Hey, buddy,” she smiled softly at him as she finally saw his face. His usual wide smile was absent, his white and gray hair was flat and product-free, and he was avoiding eye contact.

“Did Akaashi call you?” He asked sounding tired.

“Yeah,” Kagome admitted. “You guys have a game today,” she reminded as she bumped his knee with hers. “Your team needs you. You’re their captain. Their ace. What would they do without that crazy spike of yours?”

“Win just fine,” Bokuto grumbled as he closed his eyes.

Kagome sighed. “You know that’s not true. You have one of the most powerful spikes around, and your team, good as they are, needs that. Besides, you encourage them and keep them going when things get tight.”

Bokuto opened his eyes and gave her a look that meant they both knew that he wasn’t very encouraging to anyone at the moment. “Just tell Akaashi to go on without me. He can tell everyone I’m sick or something.”

Fishing around in the dark for his hand, Kagome gripped Bokuto’s hand tightly and laid her cheek against the back of it. “Come on,” she coaxed. “We both know you’ve got it in you to go win this game.”

“Not today,” he argued.

“Are you telling me that I’m going to go to a volleyball game and not even be able to watch my best friend wipe the floor with the other team?”

That actually got a small smile out of the slightly older and much larger boy. Taking in what little of her appearance he could in the light from his phone, he told her knowingly, “You aren’t going to that game. You’re dressed up to go somewhere that’s not a gym full of sweaty guys.”

“My girlfriends wanted me to go out with them today,” she admitted. “But I’d much rather watch you play.”

“Truth?”

“Truth.”

Bokuto was quiet for several long moments as he let the backlight on his phone go dark, and when Kagome felt the bed shift a little, she knew what was coming. Strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her close to his chest as he tucked her head under his chin. It was one more thing that she was used to, something they did when they were alone and one or both of them needed a little comfort, and Kagome immediately returned the hug while resting her head against his shoulder. She smiled into his shirt. Bokuto was warm. He smelled like fabric softener and something else that was distinctly _him_. He was her safe place and she was his.

“Okay,” he finally said into the quiet that had settled between them. “I’ll go. For you.”

“Good,” she told him with a smile clearly evident in her voice. “Have you had breakfast yet?” They both knew the question was asking more than if he’d eaten. He always took his medicine with his breakfast.

“No, not yet,” he mumbled into her hair.

“Well,” Kagome began as she thought about how to do things. “How about you get up, get dressed, go downstairs for breakfast, and I’ll get your gel and do your hair while you eat. You’re probably going to be short on time now.”

Kagome heard Bokuto laugh a little before he agreed, “Sounds good.” Several beats of silence passed before he spoke again. “Kagome?”

“Hm?”

Tightening his hold on her a little more, he softly said, “Love you.”

Kagome tightened her arms around him in return. They both knew that they liked each other. A lot. It was no secret. Their friends knew it. Their parents knew it. But while no one really understood why they weren’t dating, Bokuto and Kagome understood without even needing to talk about it. They were both still working through some things. Right now, they each needed a friend, not a boyfriend or girlfriend. So maybe one day. Just not today.

Turning her head, she was just able to reach his cheek for a soft kiss before she pushed the covers off of them and responded with a smile that he could actually see, “Love you too, Kou.”


	11. Takanobu Aone

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Haikyuu!! and make no money from these writings.

====================

Volleyball Hearts

Chapter Eleven: Takanobu Aone  
Rating: K

It was the same as it was every morning. Aone sat in his seat on the train he took to school, bag by his feet and empty seats on either side of him. It was something that he was used to by now, but deep down he still hoped that someone would take a seat by him. He knew he looked a little intimidating, but surely he didn’t that mean, did he? Futakuchi had tried to get him to smile more to see if that would soften his appearance, but the entire Dateko volleyball team agreed that it didn’t really work. Smiling openly just made him feel awkward and it showed.

Aone was lost in his own thoughts, trying to remember if he had a quiz that day or the next, and didn’t pay much attention as the train came to a stop at the next station and a few people got off while a few more got on. He only came back to the moment with a start when someone stopped next to him and cleared their throat. Looking up slightly, he saw a girl who looked to be around his age watching him with a smile. “Sorry to bother you, but is this seat taken?”

It was such a surprise to have someone ask him that question that it took him a minute to actually respond by shaking his head. “Great, thanks,” she said as she shifted her school bag on her shoulder so that she could sit down. But as luck would have it, that was also when the train started moving again, causing her to lose her balance. Aone lifted a hand out of reflex to catch her before she fell, but he also hesitated before actually making contact. He didn’t want to frighten her.

But he went completely stiff when he felt a light pressure on his shoulder instead. Shifting his gaze, he saw her small hand resting against him for support and his eyes widened. “Oh, sorry! I lost my balance. Are you okay?” Aone nodded quickly and ducked his head a bit as he tried to fight his rising blush. “That’s good,” the girl said as she smoothed her skirt behind her legs and sat down next to him.

It was at that moment that he noticed the familiar teal plaid skirt of Datekougyou’s girl’s uniform. When his cheeks no long felt warm, he straightened and glanced in the girl’s direction only to see her digging through her bag before sighing in what he guessed was frustration. He tensed again when she suddenly turned to look up at him.

“I hope you don’t mind if I bother you one more time,” she said with a small embarrassed laugh. Quickly looking over his uniform, she asked, “Do you go to Datekougyou?” When Aone nodded the affirmative, she smiled brightly. “Well, I just moved here and transferred to your school. I wrote down the directions on how to get there from the train station, but I can’t find them now,” she admitted. “Would you mind if I tagged along with you for today so that I can learn the route?”

Was this really happening? First a cute girl asks if she can sit next to him, and now she wants to walk to school together? People usually avoided him, especially girls. Wait...she’d asked him a question. What was it? Remembering back before his mind had wandered, he nodded in answer and watched her smile at him again. He really liked it when she did that.

“Thanks,” she told him. “I’m Kagome Higurashi, by the way.”

As her blue eyes watched him expectantly, Aone responded softly in his deep voice, “Aone. Takanobu Aone.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you!” She smiled at him again. “My first day at a new school, and I already made a new friend.” That smile was starting to put butterflies in his stomach, but in a very good way. He wanted to keep these butterflies. The rest of the train ride was spent with Kagome talking to him and him mostly just nodding or shaking his head when she asked him questions. She pointed out that he didn’t seem to talk much, but it also didn’t seem to bother her. She was carrying on a conversation with him like he wasn’t twice her size or someone that other people avoided. It made him feel warm inside and it was nice.

\--------------------

Futakuchi was coming up the sidewalk, approaching the school gates, when he spotted Aone approaching from the opposite direction. The middle blocker was pretty each to spot in a crowd, after all. He raised his hand and was about to call out when he noticed that Aone’s attention was elsewhere. When they both got a little closer to the gates and he could see through the other students better, it was much to his surprise that his teammate’s attention was focused on a girl walking and chatting beside him.

“Aone,” Futakuchi called, catching the attention of the approaching duo. “Morning.” He smirked a little when Aone made a small noise back at him like he usually did, but Futakuchi’s focus quickly shifted to the girl he’d never seen before. “Good morning,” he said with a polite smile.

“Um, good morning,” Kagome said a little unsure of if she should leave or not.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before,” Futakuchi began.

“I just transfered,” Kagome offered. “Today is my first day here.” Shifting her gaze upwards, she added, “It was lucky that I met Aone on the train since I lost my directions. He let me follow him today.”

“Well,” Futakuchi said with a knowing smile directed towards his friend. “I’m Kenji Futakuchi, one of Aone’s friends. We’re also on the volleyball team together.” Knowing that Aone probably wouldn’t have offered the information himself, Futakuchi took it upon himself to help his friend out.

“You play volleyball?” Kagome asked looking up at her new friend, to which Aone nodded. “That’s so neat!”

Futakuchi hummed in agreement. “He’s also the cornerstone of our defense,” he added. “Our team has the highest blocking rate in the country.”

“Wow,” Kagome breathed, obviously impressed as she looked up at Aone again in admiration. It looked like she was about to say something when the first bell cut her off. “Oh,” she said turning to look towards the school. “I guess we should get going. I still need to find my classroom, after all.” Turning to the tall blocker, she smiled up at him and said, “I’ll see you later, Aone. Oh, and it was nice to meet you, Futakuchi.”

The boys watched Kagome quickly trot off towards the school before walking forward together at a slower pace. “So,” Futakuchi drawled out at he grinned at his friend. “New friend?” When Aone gave him a look, he continued causally, “She’s pretty cute.” This earned him a much sterner look. “Don’t worry,” Futakuchi laughed. “You don’t have to worry about me. Other guys in the school, maybe, but not me.”

When Aone didn’t say anything in response, Futakuchi patted a hand against his back a few times hard enough to make him grunt slightly before he said, “If it makes you feel better, I think you have a shot.” Aone turned his head to look at Futakuchi as the brunette smiled teasingly and told him, “If you’re ever able to actually talk to her, you should try asking her out.”

As he stopped by his shoe locker, Aone thought about what his friend had said and thought that, even though Futakuchi liked to joke and tease, he might actually be right this time.


	12. Kentarou Kyoutani (Mad Dog)

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Haikyuu!! and make no money from these writings.

====================

Volleyball Hearts

Chapter Twelve: Kentarou Kyoutani (aka: Mad Dog-chan)  
Rating: K

After the loss in the Spring High preliminaries, after Oikawa and Iwaizumi and the rest of the third years had officially retired from the club, there had been a great deal of concern among the second and first years regarding Kyoutani, the team’s volatile new ace. Strong, aggressive, and independent, he wasn’t much for teamwork and didn’t like taking orders. The only reason they’d been able to get by with him so far was because of the respect he’d held for Iwaizumi that kept him in line.

At least, it _had_ been a concern.

It was only after the third years had retired that the club got an application for a manager. They hadn’t had one previously, and since their coach and advisor thought it was a good idea, she’d been welcomed onto the team. While there had been a few reservations amongst the players, it hadn’t taken long for first year Kagome Higurashi to endear herself to the team. But the most surprising reaction was from Kyoutani.

He’d avoided her for the first couple of weeks before finally settling for watching her carefully. Yahaba and Watari had worried about the intense way that Kyoutani’s eyes followed the petite manager, but even that worry had been short-lived. The wing spiker’s short fuse had been lit one day at practice, and it had looked like there was going to be a fight until Kyoutani caught sight of Kagome watching concerned from the sidelines. The Mad Dog deflated almost instantly before stalking off without another word.

That was how the weird little relationship between them went on for the better part of another month. Moody as he could be, Kyoutani was always much more subdued when Kagome was in the area. And aside from giving the rest of the team hope that they might just be able to work with him after all, it became something of a fun pastime to watch the two their ace dance around their manager. That became doubly true the day Kyoutani actually went up to Kagome to interact directly.

Kagome had been trying to move some boxes into the equipment storage room, but it appeared that she was having a little trouble with the heavy loads. Jaw tight and shoulders tense, Kyoutani had marched over to her and picked up two of the last three boxes. Kagome had seemed surprised since Kyoutani had yet to say a single word to her since she’d joined the club, but as she picked up the last remaining box and smiled up at the ace giving him her thanks, the onlooking club members could feel the jaws drop a little when Kyoutani actually _blushed_. He still didn’t say anything to her, only offering a small grunt of acknowledgement, but Kagome took it as an invitation to begin speaking to him.

And things only got stranger - or cuter, depending on who you asked - from there. Kagome continued to talk to Kyoutani. She greeted him every day with a smile and he started nodding in reply. She would carry on slightly one-sided conversations with him during breaks, and while he replied, it was usually by way of little noises or one- to two-word answers. But despite not actually talking to her that much, he began to get oddly protective of the smaller girl. He tolerated other guys on the team talking to her, but they definitely got their fair share of glares. It was during the day, in the halls, that things got the funniest. He followed Kagome around like a very scary puppy and intimidated any other boy who approached her into leaving within seconds.

Things seemed to hit their climax on Valentine’s Day. Kagome had come to the morning’s practice with a bag filled with chocolates for the team, and all of the guys had been very happy and thankful, even those that didn’t care for sweets. Then Kyoutani had showed up. The other second years watched as Kagome waved to him like she always did as he approached her, but when she began reaching into her bag to to fish out the chocolates she’d brought for Kyoutani, she was cut off.

“Here,” Kyoutani mumbled as he thrust out a small box of chocolate towards Kagome and looked off to the side to avoid eye contact.

While Kagome stood shocked and a little confused, Yahaba leaned closer to Watari and asked, “He _does_ know that Valentine’s is when _girls_ give chocolate to _guys_ right?” Watari shrugged, honestly not knowing the answer.

It took her a moment to catch up to what was going on, but when Kagome looked from the small heart-shaped box up to Kyoutani’s face, she saw his watching her out of the corner of his eye, a light blush creeping across his nose and cheeks. Taking the offered candy, Kagome couldn’t help the bright smile that took over her face. “Thank you,” she told him happily. When he nodded and started to walk away, she called out to stop him. “Hold on! Wait a minute.” Reaching into her bag, Kagome pulled out the last little box of chocolate before extending it towards Kyoutani. “This is for you.”

Kyoutani hesitated, looking between the chocolates and Kagome several times, before finally accepting them with a quiet “Thanks.” The team members that had been watching tried not to laugh as he quickly headed towards the changing room with his face down to hide his burning cheeks.

After their morning practice was over and the guys were changing into their uniforms, several of the players noticed something. All of them had gotten very similar boxes of store bought chocolate, but it was very obvious that Kyoutani had gotten the only box of homemade chocolate. Whether or not Kyoutani realized this wasn’t something that any of them were quite brave enough to ask.

There were questions from that day forward as to whether or not the ace and manager really liked each other, but they were all put to rest one month later on White day. Much like on Valentine’s Day, Kyoutani managed to look both shy and stubborn as he offered Kagome a white hair ribbon. And this time it was Kagome’s turn to surprise everyone as she gave Kyoutani a set of white wrist bands. It didn’t escape the team’s notice that they both showed up to the afternoon practice wearing their gifts, and that was when Kunimi started taking bets on which one of them would actually confess first and when.


End file.
